Damian

LENG SHOP - https://lengrecords.bandcamp.com/album/billion-days-incl-40-thieves-mind-fair-remixes

Artwork by Barbora Idesova - https://www.instagram.com/barboraidesova

Setting out to create a future Balearic anthem while doffing a cap to street soul and synth-heavy Italo-disco B-sides of the early 1980s, Orbs of Light’s debut single, ‘Billion Days’ lands on Leng after a tip-off from Mind Fair duo Dean Meredith and Ben Shenton, who booked the duo to play live at their Rotation festival last summer.

Orbs of Light’s Baz Bradley and A Girl Called Kate have been friends for decades and have collaborated musically in the past, though it was only a couple of years ago that they dreamed up this project. It was first trialled via a 2021 remix for Andres y Xavi on Hollis Recordings (‘Perfect Timing’) on which Kate added new vocals to Bradley’s interpretation of the track. Since then, regular recording sessions have taken place, with the duo first crafting tight instrumental tracks before – in Bradley’s words – “dream up the best songs we can” with “melodies that will hopefully stay in your head all day”.

It would be fair to say that they’ve achieved that goal on ‘Billion Days’, a hooky and addictive affair whose vocal hooks and strong chorus could well inspire Balearic sing-alongs in the months ahead. Their original mix (B1 on the vinyl version of the EP, track 2 on the digital EP) is joyous, cheery and kaleidoscopic, with steel pan style melodies, bouncy synth stabs, jaunty lead lines and Kate’s wonderful lead vocal riding a shuffling, post street soul beat and a bubbly bassline.

The accompanying remix package is naturally very strong too. San Francisco crew 40 Thieves, fresh from dropping a killer single of their own on Leng (‘The Gift’, with disco legends Gary Davis and Cinnamon Jones), step up first with a take that stretches out and builds on Orbs of Light’s original mix – think wobbly nu-disco synth bass, fresh flute sounds, dubbed-out vocal snippets and a locked-in groove that’s just perfect for sun-soaked alfresco dancing.

Fittingly, the second and final revision comes from Mind Fair, whose email to Leng HQ about Orbs of Light got the ball rolling. Opting for a rubbery, body-popping beat inspired by vintage electro, they deliver a joyful, effects-laden Balearic dancefloor ‘Dub Mix’ that somehow makes a genuinely life-affirming record even more loved-up and saucer-eyed – despite the presence of only a fraction of Kate’s addictive lead vocal.

LENG SHOP

Orbs of Light - Billion Days (40 Thieves Version)

01 Dj Steef & Mr. Bard - It Look Like Love - Love Saves Records 2024

Dj Steef & Mr. Bard - It Look Like Love

Whisper it quietly, but Andrew Meecham’s ninth album as The Emperor Machine, Island Boogie, may well be the long-serving producer’s strongest set to date. Of course, all his albums ripple with vintage synth sounds, colourful lead lines, dub-flecked electronic disco and lashings of cosmic intent, but this one just feels a little more special.

Island Boogie is certainly special. Meecham’s “most personal” full-length to date was inspired by his experiences at the Rotation Garden Party – a beloved micro-festival promoted by a group of friends (including sometime Bizarre Inc and Chicken Lips partner Dean Meredith), renowned for the quality of its custom-built Klipschorn soundsystem. “The album’s title sums up the vibe that you get from Rotation,” he explains. “It may be held in a landlocked venue but it gives a wonderful sense of isolation – it is an audiophile paradise.”

Meecham road-tested rough versions of the album’s eight tracks at Rotation 2023, with the feedback and dancefloor reaction guiding the sound and arrangement of the final mixes. Fittingly, Meecham will return to the event to showcase the album at Rotation 2024 this July. Given the inspiration he’s drawn from previous editions of the festival, that will be a very special occasion.

Musically, Island Boogie offers the most fully functioning and expertly constructed expression of The Emperor Machine sound yet, a style Meecham describes as “electronic cosmic disco-boogie”. It’s a sound that takes cues from early ‘80s NYC punk-funk and dub disco, vintage electro, proto-house and left-of-centre synth-boogie, but one that’s instantly recognisable to those who have followed Meecham’s career over the last three decades.

Island Boogie also sees Meecham continue his blossoming working relationship with Séverine Mouletin, whose stylish and distinctive vocals previously graced his popular ‘Dance Par Amour’ and ‘Your Own Style’ singles. Here Mouletin features on four tracks: the acid-flecked retro-futurist wave-boogie of ‘La Cassette’ (featuring additional percussion by Rupert Brown); the infectious, bleep-sporting headiness of recent single ‘Dévoilez-Vous’; and the squelchy analogue synth-funk of ‘Wanna Pop With You’ and ‘Vas-y-Le Chat’.

Meecham also finds space for a cover of Fox’s 1976 pop-rock classic ‘S-s-s-single Bed’, one of the Stafford-based artist’s all-time favourites. His version, featuring lead vocals by Michelle Bee and guitar from Dave Atherton, re-imagines the track as a subtly Chic-influenced slab of infectious electro-pop rich in kaleidoscopic synth sounds, sing-along choruses and shuffling drums.

The instrumental foundations of the classic Emperor Machine sound come to the fore on the album’s three other cuts. There’s the jazz-funk-flecked warmth of the LP-opening title track; the sparse squelches, bleeps, TB-303 style bass and brightly coloured electronics of ‘Walk The Dog’; and the exotic, slow-motion cosmic electronica of ‘Cha Murrah Etem’, a warm but poignant affair dedicated to his late father. Heady and intoxicating, with hints of Balearica and digital reggae, it offers a fittingly beautiful and tactile conclusion to Meecham’s most expressive and accessible album yet.

Island Boogie

Emperor Machine - Vas-Y Le Chat feat. Séverine Mouletin

I've Got a Love Like a Money

Available May 9th, exclusively at Beatport, on my full-length album "The Void"

www.beatport.com/release/the-void/5017230

I Am Me - Breathe [TEASER]

What You See

Tony OmTone - Sing Your Song (Polygon Remix)

Boom, second remix ! Check out now the club version from Zander if Allen French's Nova Vida ! 
stream everywhere : https://kitsune.lnk.to/allen-french-nivavida-zanderrmx    

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Nova Vida (Zander Remix)

STREAM🎧

Allen French - Nova Vida (Zander Remix)

Remastered in September 2019. 

Given the current state of xenophobia and the escalation of right wing extremism surrounding the topic of immigration, this composition feels more important several years after its release.  A full listen will reveal all of the original composition's nuances.

Backing percussion, bass, and synthesizers added to performances by Nils Frahm, Woodkid, and Robert De Niro.  Light sheen of plate reverb used to enhance Robert De Niro's vocal performance.

Nils Frahm & Woodkid - Winter Morning II (feat. Robert De Niro) - Damian Ardenne Remaster

Poliça - Dark Star (Meridians Remix)

Sunset festival performance @ Cataluna during Element 11 2018.  Thanks go to the Kittyboys for hosting all the talent and for a great weekend of music.

Recorded live on July 12, 2018.

Element 11 Regional Burn (Sunset) - Damian Ardenne @ Catalun Village - July 2018

Pre-release Remix of Thom Yorke's Suspirium (from the upcoming film Suspiria).  Bass and additional melodic support tracked live.

Verse 1
This is a waltz thinking about our bodies
What they mean for our salvation
With only the clothes that we stand up in
Just the ground on which we stand
Is the darkness ours to take?
Bathed in lightness, bathed in heat

Verse 2
All is well, as long as we keep spinning
Here and now, dancing behind a wall
When the old songs and laughter we do
Are forgiven always and never been true

Verse 3
When I arrive, will you come and find me?
Or in a crowd, be one of them?
Wore the wrong sign back beside her
Know tomorrow's at peace

Thom Yorke - Suspirium - Ardenne Remix

Burning Man 2018 (Sunset) - Damian Ardenne @ Gonzo Village


www.mopmop.com
www.facebook.com/mopmopofficial

Puzzle People - French Fried Boogie - MM rework

Downtempo traveler creating innerspace journeys for seekers of the deep

BOOKINGS & PROMOS: bookings@kitesbynightfall.com
---UPCOMING PERFORMANCES---
JAN 1 - SAN FRANCISCO - The Mint
DEC - MEXICO CITY - TBD
OCT 5 - THE BLOCK - SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

BURNING MAN
-SAT AUG 31 - Sunrise @ Opulent Chill (2:00 & E)
-WED AUG 28- 18:00- Sunset @ Thumper Sound (3:30 & E)
-WED AUG 28- 11AM- Vinyasa Yoga @ Opulent Chill (2 & E)
-TUE AUG 27- 11:30PM- Dust Dreams @ Opulent Chill (2 & E)
-TUE AUG 28- 11AM- Opulent Chill (2 & E)

Thom Yorke - Suspirium - Ardenne Remix

Damian Ardenne

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